


Let's Play a Game

by MyUncreativeUserSorry



Category: Keeper of the Lost Cities Series - Shannon Messenger
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Childhood Friends, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Human AU, I pushed my alden sucks agenda in this one, Originally Posted on Tumblr, Sophie is a trouble maker
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-22
Updated: 2020-10-22
Packaged: 2021-03-09 06:34:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,629
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27149467
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MyUncreativeUserSorry/pseuds/MyUncreativeUserSorry
Summary: The Ruewens and The Vackers have always run in the same circles.
Relationships: Sophie Foster/Fitz Vacker
Comments: 2
Kudos: 12





	Let's Play a Game

**Author's Note:**

  * For [eating-mooncakes (Catherine_Mooncakes)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Catherine_Mooncakes/gifts).



> I know it's not my usual fic, but I'm proud of it anyways.

Sophie is almost 6 the first time her parents drag her out to a formal luncheon. They make her wear a brand new blue dress which flares out when she spins, she feels like a Princess. 

Everyone around her is tall, and covered in all sorts of pretty, shiny little things. She tries to touch a lady’s pretty skirt, but the lady frowns angrily at her and tells mommy to ‘control that thing.’

Sophie doesn’t like being called ‘thing’ and she hides behind mommy instead of trying to touch anything else. There’s so much to see, so much more than she’s ever seen before, she itches to explore but there’s only so much she can see in the crowd. 

Her daddy asks if she wants to play with the other kids instead of staying with all the stuffy adults, Sophie doesn’t really want to see any other kids, but the scary lady is frowning at her so she says yes. 

She’s a big girl, so she doesn’t cry when mommy and daddy leave her alone. All of the other kids are playing together, and she wants to join but she’s too scared to ask. They’re all so much bigger than she is, and loud. 

There’s a little Sophie-sized chair in the corner, and a bookcase beside it, she takes one more look at the big kids before deciding that books were nicer. They’re all colourful and hard cover, and she grabs the first one she sees, Dr. Suess. 

The chair isn’t comfy, but she sits anyways, spreading the book open on her lap. She reads carefully, her fingers following the words as she reads. Just like Mr. Tiergan taught her. Even still, it’s finished too quickly, and when she looks up her mommy and daddy aren’t there. Pouting, she tosses the book behind her instead of putting it away properly.

“Ouch!”

She nearly tumbles out of her chair, trying to find the voice.

“What are you doing back there!” She yelps, because there’s a little boy, just older than her. He’s got his own stack of books beside him, and he’s rubbing his head where the book hit him.

“You’re supposed to say sorry.” He answers, she frowns, 

“You sound funny.” He doesn’t look very happy with her so she adds on, “Are you hiding?”

He looks back down at his book, “It’s too loud.” 

Sophie looks over her shoulder to the big kids, “They’re noisy.”  
  
He doesn’t say anything else, so Sophie slides off the chair and sneaks around to sit beside him. 

“My name is Sophie!” She smiles, he looks at her again and smiles back!

“I’m Fitz.”

“Nice to meet you.” She says carefully, just as her mommy taught her to. He looks down at his book, then back up to her, 

“Do you want to play a game?”

So they do, they play ispy and Sophie beats him every game because of her special memory. Fit insists that she’s cheating, so they read stories instead. Sophie thinks that Fitz has a very good bedtime-story voice, and the little nook he made behind the Sophie-sized chairs is dark and warm.

She only wakes up at home the next morning.

—–

Sophie is 9 and she’s only ever seen Fitz at her parents fancy luncheons. He’s the first person she looks for when they walk inside, even before she has to greet all of the no-longer-scary ladies. 

“I heard that they made a 6 tiered cake for dessert.” She whispers in greeting, Fitz whirls around and smiles at her. His father offers her the smallest smile before returning to his conversation with some old man in a suit. 

“I heard.” Fitz responds, “I like your dress.”

Sophie blinks and looks down at it, it’s deep purple and embroidered with lacy flowers. 

“Thank you, it’s new.” She says, her cheeks pink. “Do you wanna play a game?”

Games are different now then they were when she was 5, Fitz is almost 11 so he’s not allowed in the kiddie area any longer. Sophie thinks it’s boring without him. 

“What kind of game?” He questions, 

Sophie looks around the room carefully, trying to see something fun between all of the grown-ups. The kitchen door swings open and shut as a server exits with a platter of food. She grins.

“We shouldn’t be doing this.” Fitz hisses behind Sophie a few minutes later. 

“Shhhh!” Sophie retorts, “You’ll get us caught.”

They’ve managed to sneak past the kitchen without anyone knowing, but Sophie knows someone will come looking eventually. Fitz has too many ‘important’ people who want to meet him, so he can’t sneak off for too long anymore. 

“We’re going to get in trouble.” Fitz continues nervously, 

“We’re not going to touch it,” Sophie defends, “I just want to see it, before everyone eats it and it doesn’t look cool anymore.”

She knows it’s hidden in this room, this is where they keep all the desserts until the end of the function. Fitz doesn’t complain any further, and she doesn’t hear any footsteps from inside the room or anywhere else in the hallway, so she pushes the door open carefully.

It’s a small room, not very bright, but there are tables covered in pastries and pies and any other dessert she could ever dream of. 

“Whoa-” Fitz breathes, peeking over her shoulder.

The cake is taller than either of them, thick white icing covered in all sorts of trimmings and decorations. 

“I didn’t know cakes could be that big.” Sophie says, staring at it in awe. 

“It looks delicious.” Fitz pushes past Sophie to get a closer look, and she follows. 

It’s even bigger up close, and the designs are even more intricate then she’d thought. 

It’s right there in front of them, and Sophie’s mouth is almost watering. 

“We should taste it.” She decides, 

“What?” Fitz looks at her like she’s grown a second head. She shrugs, 

“Just to make sure it’s not poisoned.” He doesn’t look impressed, but softens at her cheeky smile, “It’s not like anyone will notice! It’s huge!”

He looks back up at the cake, 

“Father will be upset.” 

Sophie frowns, 

“He won’t know,” She promises, “we’re like spies! No one is going to catch us.” 

Fitz looks like he’s going to argue, but he looks back down at Sophie and matches her smile.

“Alright, just one bite though.”

They end up getting caught, but it’s worth it. Sophie thinks that cake is the greatest thing she’s ever eaten, and she’d managed to get icing on Fitz’s nose right before the cook found them. He looked like an adorable pouty cake-clown.

——

Sophie is 12 and she’s technically not supposed to be alone with Fitz. 

Alden isn’t very fond of the mess they’d gotten into, but she thinks it’s dumb to hold a grudge for so long. She’d had to miss 3 whole luncheons after the ordeal as punishment for ruining the cake, but somehow the whole ‘forbidden’ aspect of their friendship only made it more exciting the next time she saw Fitz.

“Did you really blow up the science lab?” Is the first thing Fitz says to her, they’re off in a corner, not hidden away from the mingling bodies, but far enough that Alden won’t see them together. 

She pouts, “Has everyone heard?”

“Grady is acting it out, it’s rather exciting.” Fitz explains, eyes twinkling, “So you really did?”

Sophie crosses her arms, “No!” She defends, then hesitates. “Well, not exactly. I only _almost_ exploded the science lab.”

She can tell Fitz is laughing at her, even just internally, 

“It’s not _my_ fault that Ms. Cadence left me the wrong materials.” 

“Of course not.” He agrees genially, but he’s still beaming. 

“Are we just going to stand here? Let’s play a game.” She deflects, looking away.

“Same as last time?” He clarifies, she nods. He turns to look out at the crowd carefully, shifting to lean against the wall beside her. 

“She got married,” he points to a random lady in the crowd. Sophie’s sure they’ve been introduced before but the name eludes her. 

“Yeah?” 

Fitz nods sagely, “Yes, to a man who sells top hats for a living.” 

Sophie snickers, “Oh really?”

“He makes them for dogs, mostly. If you get the right coupon he’ll even throw in a monocle and a bow-tie.” It never ceases to amaze Sophie, watching him make all of this up while keeping a straight face.

“Well,” she searches the room, “he decided to quit his job and join the circus.” She points to some man who is talking with three women. “He likes to think it’ll make people like him better.”

“He’s awfully well dressed for a clown.” Fitz remarks, and Sophie almost can’t help her laugh. She can see Fitz smiling softly from the corner of her eye. 

“He’s not a clown, he rides trick ponies.” 

It’s Fitz’s turn to laugh, “You and your horses.” he shakes his head, but Sophie knows he’s only teasing.

“They’re pretty, okay?”

“Like attracts like, I suppose.” Fitz says carefully.

Before she can respond, the crowd parts as the Vacker patriarch makes his way towards them. 

Sophie leaves before he sees her, the last thing she wants is for Fitz to get in trouble.

——

Sophie is 16 and she looks forward to these luncheons less and less each time. There’s no games anymore, she’s paraded around to her parents’ various wealthy friends. She knows they don’t mean any harm, they’re ‘giving her opportunities for the future’ and ‘helping her create connections.’

Most of the time, her and Fitz can only sneak a quick word to one another before he’s being swept off to talk to some business man. Sophie’s rather glad she doesn’t have to worry about business quite yet, she wishes Fitz didn’t have to deal with it either, but she knows it’s different for him.

It’s getting late and her feet ache, the last of the desserts are being brought out and her parents have been swept off into some card game with all of the other people who decided to stay late. She just wants to go home and see her hamster, Iggy, and maybe see if Silveny feels friendly enough to take her for a ride. 

“Psst-” someone murmurs behind her, she whirls. 

Fitz rubs his arm where she’d caught him with her elbow, “Ouch.” he grins. Her heart flutters.

“It’s you.” She exhales, “Hi.”

“You look nice.” He says in lieu of greeting, she tries not to go pink. 

“So do you.” She manages, because of course he does.

“Want to get out of here?” He offers, she looks over at her parents. They’ll probably be occupied for another hour at least. 

“Won’t your dad be upset if you leave?” She asks, even though she want’s to say yes.

“He’s sick, mother and I came alone.” He explains, “Come on.”

“Uh uh.” She shakes her head, “I am not going to any of your secret hideouts.”

“They’re not that bad.” Fitz tries, 

“One of them is a broken elevator, Fitzroy.”

He doesn’t have anything to say in return, so she takes the liberty to continue.

“I’ve got a better place, don’t worry.”

With one last look at the congregation of adults, they sneak out of the room.

Five minutes later, they’re seated beside each other. The event hall isn’t tall, only a single story, but that doesn’t make the view from the roof any less exhilarating. The sun is dipping below the horizon, painting the world in faint pinks and oranges. 

“I’ve missed seeing you.” Fitz finally says, it’s nearly lost to the noise of traffic below them. 

“I’ve missed you, too.” Sophie says with more confidence then she feels, hiding slightly behind a curtain of her hair. 

They fall into an easy silence, simply enjoying each other’s presence. Sophie desperately ignores how warm she feels with him so close, for the first time in a long time. She’s not exactly sure /when/ she started feeling more then friendly towards him, but she’s not surprised either.

When she was younger, her parents used to good-naturedly tease her about him, and she’d hated what they were implying. Her and Fitz were friends, best friends, even if they could only see each other at this place. She didn’t mind being his best friend.

She wouldn’t mind holding his hand, either.

Of course, she knows it’s impossible, so she forces down the fantasy and focuses on the way the shadows dance off the city lights.

When they do talk, it’s not about much at all. Just their families, Sophie’s chemistry class shenanigans, Fitz’s sister. Anything really, just wasting time by being together.

Far too soon, the sun has nearly disappeared completely, and the only light is from the cars and streetlights below. 

“Hey, Sophie?” Fitz says, and she looks over at him. There’s something strange in his face that she can’t quite understand. “Let’s play a game.”

“Alright.” She says carefully, she’d begun to think their game days were behind them, but she’d be a fool to say no. Looking out over the busy skyline, she offers “Ispy?”

Fitz chuckles, and she can’t help but smile. “No, you always cheat.” He’s not looking at her anymore, instead he’s staring at the gravel beneath their feet.

“How about two truths, one lie?” He asks. She frowns, they’ve never played that before. She always figured that after over a decade they would know each other far too well to play such a game. She says yes anyways.

“I’ll go first.” Fitz says, shifting so he’s sitting to face her. Sophie takes her cue to do the same.

“My hair is brown, my eyes are yellow-” Their eyes meet and Sophie’s breath catching at the intensity of emotions swimming in his, already her cheeks feel as though they’re burning. “-and I think that I’m falling in love with you.”

The last of the sun’s rays burn between them, illuminating every crack of emotion on their faces. Sophie’s mouth hangs open slightly, the words make complete sense yet none at all, and she feels like she’s dreaming, all while being more awake then she’s ever felt before.

“Your eyes are teal.” She manages to murmur, and his delicate smile sends the butterflies in her stomach into a brilliant, fluttering frenzy.

“It’s your turn.” He says instead of answering, and Sophie can hear the question loud and clear.

Dazedly, she swallows, going off instinct while her brain short circuits. 

“I have a horse named Silveny, my hair is red-” Sophie’s tunnel visioned, the world exists around her but all she can see is the boy in front of her, and she can’t help her next words from slipping out even if she tries. “-and I think I’m falling in love with you, too.”

Her face nearly hurts from how widely she’s smiling, but she doesn’t mind, because Fitz’s own smile is positively radiant. 

There’s a nudge at her hand, and she looks down to find his fingers pressing lightly against her own in a silent question. She takes his hand in her own. 

“Sophie Foster, will you be my girlfriend?” 

For a moment, there’s no adults to impress, no companies to inherit, just them. She nods, and everything feels overwhelmingly right.

“Your dad won’t be happy.” Is the first thing she thinks of, after far too long of getting lost in each other’s eyes. Because she’s worried, she doesn’t want them to be forced apart. 

Fitz’s eyes twinkle with memory.

“We’ll be like spies, he doesn’t have to know.”

Their little bubble has to break eventually, as they leave with their respective parents as the night comes to a close. Sophie’s already counting down the days until they will see each other once more.

**Author's Note:**

> Come say hi to me on tumblr!!! (where I have way more fics) https://www.tumblr.com/blog/everyonehasthoughts


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